LONDON
— What should a Catholic adoption agency do when confronted with a law that
insists that it place children in the care of practicing homosexual couples?

This
is the problem confronting Britain’s Catholic adoption agencies under new
sexual orientation regulations.

A
new law, passed by the Labor Government, does not permit any exemption on
religious grounds. Each diocesan adoption agency has had to discuss the
possibilities for the future.

The
Archdioceses of Boston and San Francisco had to respond to similar local laws.

In
southeast England, the official position is that the Southwark Catholic
Children’s Society has not yet made a final decision. But unofficial reports
state that it will hand over its adoption work to a wholly new organization, to
be called the Cabrini Children’s Society.

This
society, having the same CCS initials and taking the name of the Italian saint,
will not be formally associated with the Church and will therefore be able to
fulfill all the requirements of the new law even if they conflict with Catholic
teaching.

The
new Cabrini Society is reported to have been given $20 million from the
Children’s Society funds.

A
spokesman for the Diocese of Southwark said, “No final decision has yet been
made. When the meeting is held and a decision is taken, this will be made
public. If a decision is made to form an independent society then certain
things may flow from that, but no decision has yet been made.”

Still,
local reaction was negative. Father Timothy Finigan of Our Lady of the Rosary
Church in Blackfen, Kent, said: “The Catholic Children’s Society currently
receives income from an annual collection at Sunday Mass, offerings at the
Christmas Crib, Lenten alms, collections made in Catholic schools and Mass
stipends. I cannot see that any of these sources of funding could legitimately
continue if the charity is now no longer a Catholic charity and is prepared to
act contrary to the teaching of the Church.”

Catholic
blogger Philip Andrews was more scathing: “This is nothing less than the
misappropriation of the good name of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, and the
linking of her name to something with which she would profoundly disagree — a
complete perversion of her principles. Mother Cabrini spent her life caring for
children, rather than seeing them abandoned or given up into dangerous or
sinful situations, founding orphanages to protect and care for the vulnerable.”

One
deanery gathering of priests — at Kingston in Surrey — has already formally
voted not to allow any collections in churches for a new society of the type
envisaged.

Across the Thames

Meanwhile,
across the Thames River in Westminster, the primatial see of England and Wales,
under Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, a very different response is likely. A
decision has been taken to continue with existing practices.

Bishop
Bernard Longley has written to all the clergy of the diocese saying that it
seems to be possible to comply with the new law by making some minor amendments
to the relevant documents.

As
chairman of the board of the Westminster Catholic Children’s Society, he says,
“The trustees are satisfied that the society’s circumstances are such that we
are now able to take the necessary steps to comply with the legislation by
applying Regulation 18” of the Sexual Orientation Regulations. He believes that
this will enable the society, “subject to approval by the Charity Commission,
to alter its governing documents so as to be able to continue with its current
policy of assessing only couples who are married.”

The
bishop is choosing his words carefully. He noted that “the process of seeking
approval from the Charity Commission is legally complicated” and it is expected
to take at least some months. There is clearly the hope that the society will
be able to continue its work, relying on the fact that its foundation was
specifically connected to the support of married people.

The
Westminster diocesan approach seems to be an option at present and is in line
with suggestions made by lawyers and others who believe that it is not
necessary for any Catholic organization to close down completely, while certain
areas remain unclear.

Closing Down

In
northern England, the Catholic Children’s Rescue Society in the Diocese of
Salford (Manchester) is simply closing down all its adoption services.

In
recent years these have in any case dwindled from some 50 adoption/fostering
cases each year to about 10.

Rather
than break with Catholic moral teaching, or create a new society that has no
formal links with the Church, the Rescue Society will simply abandon all
adoption work and continue with its other activities, which include running
care homes, drop-in centers and housing advice for the poor and vulnerable.

Catholic
lawyer Neil Addison has been urging the bishops to seek clarification of the
law, saying that if the Church is obliged to close down areas of its work,
people must see that it is the government which is forcing this to be done, not
the Church itself.

“The
Catholic Church in Britain hasn’t yet woken up to the fact that it has to be
prepared to fight in the courts — and perhaps to lose,” he said. “In the 1970s
the gay-rights groups were prepared to do this. They lost court cases but they
gained points, and eventually achieved their aim. I don’t think that the
Catholic Church has yet understood that we are in this new environment.

“The
bishops still think in terms of getting the government to produce good laws.
But we have to be prepared to argue our case in the courts. I think perhaps the
Church in Britain needs to learn from the Catholics of the USA about this.”